Three top tips for speaking well in public

GCSEs/A Levels/Degree done? Three things to raise your personal speaking impact for your next steps.

You’re new out here – and some will find that hard to accept.

You have a voice and the right to use it and to be heard.

But if you have a collection of fashionable speaking habits that make it harder for others to listen to you – they’ll stop.

You want a different outcome? You control that.

Time to sound like a person who has something to say

I’ve changed how I speak for more impact. I’ve slowed down. I’ve learned how to project for volume and resonance. And I’ve learned to use my voice as a personal and professional asset.

So here’s a top tip for polishing your personal speaking impact:

Stop saying ‘like’

It gets in the way of them hearing and understanding you.

‘I like that …. it’s just like one I used to have …’ here, ‘like’ has meanings.

But when it’s used in the same way as ‘um’ and ‘er’ it becomes a meaningless thinking noise.

‘I like, like that … it’s like, like one I like, used to have …’ here, ‘like’ has also become confusing clutter.

Use ‘like’ mindfully and meaningfully, so they can follow your meaning.

And allow the pause instead of that meaningless ‘like’. They’ll find it easier to listen.

Philippa Hammond